Jailbird
by December Camie
Summary: Modern AU in which Elliot refuses to say anything, Leo is perfect, Alice is annoying and deep at the same time, Oz is not everything he appears to be, and Gilbert is…confused. What the heck is going on! (two-shot)
1. Chapter 1

Part I

Summary: Modern AU in which Elliot refuses to say anything, Leo is perfect, Alice is annoying and deep at the same time, Oz is not everything he appears to be, and Gilbert is…confused. What the heck is going on?!

Ages: Gilbert is 21 year old college student, Elliot and Leo are both 18 and in 12th grade as high school seniors, Oz and Alice are both 17 (Oz about a month older than Alice) and in 12th grade as high school seniors as well.

Pairings: There aren't supposed to be any pairings in this story, since this is mainly about friendship and hurt/comfort.

-0o0-

"What do you mean you're leaving?!" Gilbert half yelled at Elliot as the teenager ran around the house, searching for some kind of a bag.

"Exactly that," Elliot said and brushed past him into his older sister's bedroom.

"But I just got here!" Gilbert said with exasperation as he stood in the hallway. "I haven't seen you in months, yet the second I decide to visit you need to go on- on- on some kind of road trip?!"

"Yep, that sounds about right." Elliot reappeared with a large backpack and walked past Gilbert without a glance.

"And it's not a road trip!" he yelled just as he disappeared into his own bedroom. "I told you before; I need to go help a friend."

"Leo?" Gilbert asked with confusion.

He heard a snort. "Do you really think Leo would ever need my help?" Elliot's voice echoed through the house.

"As far as I know, he's the only friend you have," Gilbert said, crossing his arms. "That's the only one I hear about at least."

"Shut up, Gilbert. I have tons of friends. I just don't talk about them as much as I do about Leo."

Gilbert rolled his eyes at the ceiling. "Alright then. Who's this new friend I haven't heard about?"

"Not telling," Elliot said as he came back into the hallway. He zipped up the back pack as he strode by Gilbert and hefted it onto one shoulder without breaking stride. Gilbert watched him go, brow furrowed. He really didn't understand this kid sometimes.

"I won't be back until later," Elliot shouted on his way to the door. "My parents won't be home until tomorrow night so help yourself to whatever's in the fridge if you get hungry. And you can sleep in the guest room if you don't have a place to stay in town. Just know that if you touch anything in my bedroom you're a dead man."

"Wait- you're going _now_?!" Gilbert asked, shocked, and ran after Elliot just as the front door slammed shut.

"Of course. What do you think the bag is for?" He took his keys out of his pocket and unlocked his car on his way across the lawn.

"I- I don't know. But- wait!" Gilbert grabbed Elliot's arm before he had the chance to open the car door.

Elliot looked down at Gilbert's hand then back at the man himself, scowling. "_What_? I told you everything you need to know-"

"No you haven't!" Gilbert snapped. "Where are you going? Who are you helping? Do your parents know-?"

"To the police station, my friend- like I told you before- and no," Elliot listed with a bored expression. "Can you let go now? I'm supposed to pick up Leo."

Gilbert gaped. He didn't know what to say. Why was Elliot friends with someone who was being held at the police station?! And why wouldn't Elliot tell him who his friend was? Did Elliot think that he would tell his parents or something?

That was what he wanted to say, but when he opened his mouth all that came out was, "Leo's coming?"

"Yup. Now are you going to let go or what?"

"Don't you need a responsible adult or someone to go with you to jail?"Gilbert stuttered, still clutching Elliot's arm.

"No," he said slowly. "I have Leo."

"But- but-"

Elliot sighed, annoyed. "Listen, Gilbert, if you're really that worried you can come along with us. Then you can see that I'm not going to some crazy party or something."

Gilbert flushed. "I wasn't thinking that at all!"

"Just, get in the car," Elliot snapped and jerked his arm out of Gilbert's hold. "I really need to get going and you're just holding me up now." He walked around to the back of the car, opened the trunk and threw in the backpack.

"Are you sure about this?" Gilbert asked hesitantly. He didn't really want to go to jail but Elliot was important to him; he wasn't about to let the brash teenager go without some kind of responsible adult to keep an eye on him.

"_Yes_," Elliot said with a sigh. "Now get in the back; Leo's going in the front with me."

-0o0-

"Got the directions?" Elliot asked as Leo slammed the door shut.

Leo nodded and held up a few sheets of paper. "You have the clothes?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't sure what to grab for Ali-"

"Clothes?" Gilbert repeated incredulously from the middle seat in the back. Why did the heck did they need clothes for?

Leo turned around in his seat and smiled pleasantly at the golden eyed male. "Oh, hello Gilbert. I didn't know you were coming with us. I haven't seen you in a while."

"My college is far away," Gilbert said with a shrug. "I came over to visit Elliot for the weekend but then he forced me to go on this crazy road trip with him."

"Hey, don't complain!" Elliot said loudly as he drove the car backwards out of the driveway. "You were practically hanging off my arm."

"Was not!"

"Am I missing something-?" Leo started to ask.

"No!" Elliot said sharply. "Just read me the directions so we can get there as soon as possible. I hate long drives," he mumbled.

Leo brushed some of his long hair behind his ear and adjusted his glasses so he could read the tiny font. "Okay, just take the next left-"

"Wait, how long is the drive?" Gilbert interrupted.

Leo shrugged. "It's not that long. Elliot's just paranoid."

"It's a two hour drive," Elliot grumbled from the front seat.

"Two hours?!" Gilbert cried out loud. "I thought we were going to the Pandora police station!"

"Well you thought wrong," Elliot said. "The police station isn't in Pandora. Now, Leo, what did you say before? I take the next left?"

"Yes. And after that you go to the highway-"

Gilbert slumped in the backseat, glowering. He stared out the window moodily and tuned out the pair talking in the front, choosing instead to focus on the passing scenery.

It was four o'clock in the afternoon; by the time they got to the police station, had something to eat and returned to Elliot's house it would after eight. And that wasn't including any traffic they might hit on the way there or back.

Why would Elliot go out of his way to go this far just to help a friend? Who was this person so important to him? And what made this person so special that he hadn't told Gilbert? Their families had been friends before either Elliot or Gilbert had been born and had remained so long after their children had grown up. After all of this time, what was it that Elliot couldn't trust him with?

-0o0-

The door slamming shut jerked Gilbert out of his sleep. He blinked repeatedly, trying to focus as Elliot opened the front door. He must have fallen asleep some time after they had stopped for gas, he thought distantly.

Elliot rapped his knuckles on the glass window of Gilbert's door, motioning with his hand for Gilbert to open it.

"You coming?" Elliot asked once Gilbert had managed to push the door open.

"…coming where?" Gilbert said, confused. He didn't wake up quickly compared to most people and he had a hard time understanding what Elliot meant.

"Inside," Leo said, appearing behind his friend. "We're at the police station, Gilbert."

Gilbert started and looked around. They were parked outside of an old building, one he didn't recognize, labeled with the town name he had never heard of before: 'Abyss'. It was getting dark out now and the streetlamps were starting to flicker on.

"We won't be inside for that long," Elliot said. "You can stay here if you want."

Gilbert refocused his attention on him. "No, I'm coming with you. That's why I'm here in the first place."

"Suit yourself." Elliot turned his back on Gilbert and walked towards the entrance with Leo in tow.

Gilbert followed shortly after a brief struggle of trying to untangle himself from the load of blankets Elliot had thrown in the backseat earlier. By the time he caught up, Elliot had already spoken to the man at the desk and someone was leading him and Leo through a back door.

"Gilbert, hurry up!" Elliot shouted and Gilbert ran the last few feet before the door shut on him.

"Are you sure about this, son?" the man leading them asked. "They are of the Ves-"

"I'm sure," Elliot said firmly. Gilbert looked at him curiously. What was going on?

They made another right at the end of the hallway and stopped. The man gestured at the door and said, "They should be right through there. You're free to leave whenever you wish."

Elliot strode past the man without a giving him thanks, pushing the door open and disappearing.

"Ah, thank you sir," Leo said with a nod. "I'm sorry for my friend's rudeness. He isn't normally like this."

The man shrugged. "It's not my problem, kid. Enjoy the rest of your day." He gestured towards the door and Leo hurried to follow after Elliot. Gilbert trudged after them at a much slower pace, glowering at the man before opening the door.

He was met with a wave of noise that nearly sent him running backwards right through the door he had just entered.

"Elliot!" someone- Gilbert didn't recognize the ecstatic voice- screamed excitedly. Gilbert caught a flash of blond hair and pale skin before Elliot was stumbling backwards, a pair of arms wrapped firmly around his waist.

Gilbert gaped at Elliot's back, shocked that he accepted this blatant show of affection and hadn't shoved the other person away at first chance. From the corner of his eye he saw Leo also watching the pair with a small smile as he stood off to the side.

"Ow-! Damnit, Oz!" Elliot said loudly as he tried to steady himself. "Ow-stop it! We're going to fall!"

He was met with the sound of light laughter and the boy- that was the only word Gilbert could think of to describe this other person as- looked up with a bright smile. Even from this distance he could see the blonde's bright green eyes.

"Don't worry, Elliot!" the boy said cheerfully. "We're fine! Aren't we, Alice?" He looked over his shoulder, still hugging Elliot.

"Hmph!" the new voice came from the corner of the room. "Of course we are! I once hitchhiked on a bus across the country; a few hours at the police station is nothing compared to that!"

A girl with long brown hair and startling purple eyes stood up from a chair and stalked over. Gilbert stared; he had never seen a girl like this before. She had an air of arrogance and self assurance, like a rebel without cause.

He instantly disliked her.

"Alice." Elliot nodded to her while trying to gently unwrap the boy's arms around his waist.

"Elliot," the girl Alice said with grudging respect. "Nice to see you again."

"Likewise. Have you met my friend, Leo?" Elliot gestured towards his best friend and Leo approached Alice.

"Hello, Alice," Leo said, holding out a hand. "I'm glad I finally got the chance to meet you."

Alice looked him up and down warily before accepting the handshake. "I could say the same. Oz says all Elliot ever talks about is you and that stupid knight story they're obsessed with-"

"It's not stupid!" the other two shouted simultaneously and Gilbert's jaw went slack, taken aback by the sudden loudness.

"Holy Knight is the most amazing series-" Elliot began to say angrily.

"-in the history of books _ever_!" the blond finished with an equal amount of passion.

Alice rolled her eyes. "See what I mean?" she said to Leo who laughed quietly.

"I'm not going to get into an argument with you about this," Elliot said with an irritated wave of his hand. "I'm tired and I want to go home; I'm sure you guys want the same."

The boy- who Gilbert had guessed was the 'Oz' everyone kept mentioning- nodded. "Did you bring the clothes?" he asked eagerly.

"Of course," Elliot scoffed and held out the backpack he had been carrying around. Oz grabbed it quickly.

"Everything should be in there," he said as Oz unzipped the backpack and started pulling out clothes. "Sorry for all of the guy stuff, Alice; normally I would have gotten my sister's clothes but my parents just cleaned out her room."

Gilbert's mind went back to two hours before when Elliot had been searching in his sister's room for something. Now at least he knew what Elliot had been doing in there.

"S'alright," Alice said gruffly and took the jeans and t-shirt Oz held out to her. "I'm not picky with what I wear. But I have one question." She held up a finger.

"What now?" Elliot asked, sounding annoyed.

"Who the hell is the seaweed head in the room?" Alice asked bluntly and jerked her thumb at Gilbert.

Gilbert's eye twitched. "What did you just call me?!" he yelled furiously while Alice folded her arms with a smirk. Oz jumped, surprised at the sudden loudness and whirled around to stare at Gilbert with wide eyes.

"Wow, I didn't even realize you were even in here!" he exclaimed with a bright smile. In the short second Gilbert's attention shifted to the blond haired teenager, all of his anger towards the haughty girl evaporated. He stared openly at the other, feeling something similar to awestruck; he had never seen someone with such intense, green eyes. Up close they looked like emeralds set against the porcelain of his pale skin, and his hair shone pure gold where the sunlight touched it.

"Ah, sorry, I forgot to introduce you guys," Gilbert heard Elliot say somewhere in the background. "Gilbert, this is my friend Oz I was telling you about before, and this is his second in command, Alice. Alice, Oz, this is Gilbert. He's a close friend to my family; he's like my older brother."

"You got it wrong," Alice snapped angrily. "Oz is _my_ second in command, not the other way around."

Gilbert was still staring but Oz didn't seem to notice. Instead he just laughed lightly at Alice's remark and held out his hand to Gilbert, saying, "It's nice to meet you, Gilbert. You must be really cool if you're close enough to Elliot for him to consider you his brother."

"I- I-" Gilbert stuttered, flushing. No one had ever called him cool before. Quiet and occasionally cold towards others, sure, but _cool_?

"He means thanks," Elliot interrupted and elbowed Gilbert to make him stop stuttering. "Right, Gilbert?"

"R-right," Gilbert said, looking away and trying not to feel too embarrassed. Oz just smiled kindly.

"Can we go home already?" Alice grumbled. "I hate it in here."

"Sure. As soon as you get changed, we'll be out of this place in no time," Elliot said snidely. Alice glared at him.

"C'mon, Alice." Oz turned away from Gilbert and grabbed the girl's arm, dragging her out of the room. "Let's go find a restroom or something so that you can change." He pushed to door open and pulled her through it as the others watched.

"But I don't want-!" she cried out before she was cut off.

The door shut quietly behind them and the room was filled with silence. Gilbert felt a strange pang of loneliness, even though Elliot and Leo were still standing right next to him. The room suddenly seemed less bright and warm then it had a minute ago, and he couldn't figure out why.

"Shall we go then?" Leo asked and his voice echoed around the room.

"Yeah. There's no point waiting in here." Elliot started to walk towards the door with Leo.

"Wait!" Gilbert hurried to catch up. "We're leaving now? Without them?" he asked, panicking.

"No," Elliot scoffed, pushing the door open. "They're coming with us. Do you honestly think we would come all this way just to deliver some clothes?"

"Elliot…" Leo said in a warning tone.

"Of course not," Gilbert said. "But you said we were leaving-"

"Leaving the police station," Elliot corrected as they walked back into the entrance area. "We're just going to wait in the car until they come out and then we'll be on our way back home."

"Did you take care of the paperwork and everything to get them released?" Gilbert asked.

"Yup. It's all done. Right, Leo?"

"Right," Leo said.

"Why were they in there in the first place? Did they do something illegal?" The question had been bothering him ever since he saw the strange pair; neither of them looked old enough to have done something jail worthy. Especially Oz, with the air of innocence about him.

Elliot shrugged. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you 'don't know'?" Gilbert hissed at him as they left the lobby and into the cold night air. Leo followed them, a few steps behind. "You came all of this way to get them out and you don't even know why they were in there in the first place?!"

"Relax, Gilbert," Elliot said with a role of his eyes. "Oz is a good kid. I'm sure it wasn't anything too serious. Maybe Alice insulted a police officer or something and Oz probably got involved trying to stop it. Don't worry about it."

They were silent for a moment, but just before they reached the car Gilbert said quietly, "Why didn't you want to tell me about them?"

Elliot stopped walking and turned around to face him. "What?" he said. Leo walked carefully past them and stepped into the back of the car, shutting the door behind him so that the two would have some privacy.

"Why didn't you want to tell me who they were?" Gilbert repeated, feeling wounded. He had known Elliot since they were children and it hurt to think that there were some things that Elliot wasn't comfortable talking to him about. "I wouldn't have tried to stop you if I knew you cared about them that much-"

"It's not like that," Elliot interrupted with a sigh. "I mean, I do care about them. But it's really nothing to worry about."

"But I don't understand, do you not trust me or something-?"

"What? No- what are you even saying?" Elliot shook his head. "Of course I trust you."

"But then why would you-?" Gilbert tried to say.

"I would trust you with my life," Elliot said seriously. "Don't even doubt that. The only reason why I wouldn't tell you is because I don't want my parents finding out about this."

"But I wouldn't have told them if you didn't want me to!" Gilbert burst out. "You could have told me at any time and I wouldn't have said anything, but it bothers me that you think that you can't talk to me about things like this!"

"Gilbert," Elliot said abruptly.

"What?" he snapped.

"They're Vessaliuses."

Gilbert's jaw fell open and he gaped at Elliot while the teenager stared impassively back at him.

"V-Vessalius?" he stuttered. On the way here he had thought of many reasons why Elliot refused to tell him about his friends; the fact that they were Vessaliuses hadn't been one of them.

"Yes, Vessalius," Elliot said impatiently. "Now you know why I didn't mention anything. If my father knew, I'd be dead."

His eyes shifted to gaze at something over Gilbert's shoulder and Gilbert turned to see Oz and Alice heading out of the entrance. He could barely see in the light of the setting sun, but he could make out Alice snapping at Oz about something while the blond shrugged his shoulders, looking nonchalant. They had changed into the clothes Elliot had given them; baggy jeans and t shirts, Oz's pure white while Alice wore a dark red.

"Listen," Elliot hissed, drawing Gilbert's attention back to the beige haired teenager.

"What?"

"You can't tell my father about this," Elliot said lowly as the pair drew close. "Not even on accident. As far as you know, we spent the rest of the day at home watching those stupid Headhunter horror movies, okay?"

Gilbert hesitated to agree- he hated lying to Elliot's parents, whom he considered as an aunt and uncle- but before he could say anything Oz and Alice reached them.

"Are we okay?" Oz asked, looking back and forth between them as Alice folded her arms.

"Fine," Elliot said shortly. "We were just talking about what to get for dinner." Gilbert looked sideways at him, brow furrowed.

"Something with meat!" Alice said loudly, her purple eyes lighting up. Oz laughed next to her.

"We'll find you a place with meat, okay Alice?" he said as he ushered her towards the car. "Let's get on the road first though."

"I call shotgun!" she cried and ran around the car with Oz following.

"No way!" Elliot shouted after them. "Leo is supposed to give me directions on how to get out of here!"

"He can do that from the back!" came Alice's reply as she opened the car door. Even from the other side of the car Gilbert could hear Oz's amused snort as he shut the door for her.

"Damn that girl," Elliot muttered. "She always has to get her way." He looked back at Gilbert. "You're going to have to sit in the back again. Sorry about that."

"It's alright," he said, watching Oz as the smaller teen opened the back car and asked Leo to move to the middle seat. "I don't mind."

"Yeah, _you _don't mind," Elliot grumbled as he pulled open the door to the front seat. "You're not in the front with miss loudmouth for two hours."

-0o0-

The ride back to Elliot's house was… interesting, to say the least.

They should have known that they were doomed from the start when, after only being on the road for five minutes, Alice suddenly declared that she needed to go to the bathroom.

"You were just in the bathroom at the police station!" Gilbert cried furiously as Elliot swung the car into a gas station parking lot. What the hell was this idiot girl thinking?! By this rate they would never get back!

"Shut _up_, seaweed head!" Alice snarled and wacked him over the head with Elliot's backpack. "It's an emergency!"

"Alice, calm down!" Oz shouted over them as the two began to bicker. "It's okay; we needed gas anyway, right Elliot?"

Elliot had mumbled something unintelligible under his breath and they paid for the gas while waiting patiently for Alice to return from her trip to the restroom. Or at least Oz and Leo had waited patiently; Elliot tapped his foot with annoyance as he leaned against the car and Gilbert had scowled at the road, thinking how much quicker this would go if they just left the stupid girl behind.

At least Alice had been smart enough to come back with snacks for the rest of the ride.

Then, of course, there had been the issue of what they were going to eat, if they should stop or just continue to drive, how they were going to eat when hardly any of them had any money left-

"I demand some kind of meat!" Alice demanded, slamming a fist onto the dashboard and scaring everyone in the car. Gilbert scowled but bit back any retorts that came to mind; no one needed more headaches from this trip.

"I told you I don't have enough money to buy you meat!" Elliot snapped at her while trying to keep his eyes on the road.

"Oz!" Alice cried and whirled around in her seat to glare at the blond who jumped. "You said before when we were at the station that you would get me meat!"

Oz winced. "Yeah, but if we don't have any money there's nothing I can do about it, Alice. And you can't force Elliot to buy meat when he went all of this way to get us."

Alice made a pained expression, as if the idea of not eating meat actually _hurt_ her in some insane way, and Oz hurried to say, "I'll buy you meat when we're on our own again, okay?" She nodded and settled back down in her chair, turning to stare out the window.

Gilbert watched the exchange with curiosity. It was interesting seeing how the two got along despite the fact that they were so different. It seemed that no matter how loud or determined Alice was she could always be calmed by Oz. Oz was the only one who make her see reason through her crazy plans, Oz was the one who got her to give the serious answers, Oz was the one who made Gilbert think that there was more to Alice than just the silly girl he saw on the surface.

Likewise Alice was the person who made Oz laugh and smile the most. Oz often spaced out when no one spoke to him and his expression would turn somber. Too somber, Gilbert noted, for a teenager who still had his whole life still ahead of him. Alice could easily pull Oz out of these stupors with a simple comment or flip of her hair. He smiled when she smiled, he laughed when she laughed…it made Gilbert wonder how they ever met in the first place.

They were opposites of each other, yet they also matched the other's personality in a way that was nothing like Gilbert had ever seen. There was a deepness to their relationship too; a depth between them that was lacking from most- if not all- of the college relationships Gilbert had seen over the years.

It made him even more curious about why they had been stuck in the police station in the first place. Why hadn't they called their parents instead of getting Elliot to help? Up until now Gilbert had thought that Elliot hated the Vessaliuses- the idea had been grounded into his brain since he was a child- yet here they were rescuing Oz from the Abyss police station. But then again, how had Elliot and Oz become friends in the first place?

Needless to say, Gilbert had plenty to think about on the ride back.

-0o0-

**11/1/2012**

**THIS STORY. I had so much fun writing this, you seriously have no idea. But, anyways, please review if you liked it! The second part will be added on soon.**

**I do not own Pandora Hearts.**


	2. Chapter 2

Part II

Summary: Modern AU in which Elliot refuses to say anything, Leo is perfect, Alice is annoying and deep at the same time, Oz is not everything he appears to be, and Gilbert is…confused. What the heck is going on?!

Ages: Gilbert is 21 year old college student, Elliot and Leo are both 18 and in 12th grade as high school seniors, Oz and Alice are both 17 (Oz about a month older than Alice) and in 12th grade as high school seniors as well.

Pairings: There aren't supposed to be any pairings in this story, since this is mainly about friendship and hurt/comfort.

-0o0-

Somewhere along the way back they managed to stop at a pizza place and ordered a few pies for dinner. They even got one with meatball toppings for Alice. While Gilbert and Leo paid, Alice, Oz and Elliot ran into a supermarket and stocked up on a few bags of chips and pretzels, just in case they got stuck in traffic for a few extra hours and got hungry again.

Turns out, there was traffic. More than they had expected, extending the trip by at least another two hours, according to the radio traffic status.

After being stuck in the same spot for over half an hour, Elliot started to curse profoundly and demanded that somebody else 'drive this stupid piece of junk' before he did something drastic, like ram it into the ugly yellow minivan in front of them.

Everyone had moved very quickly after that. Alice had protested at first, but eventually agreed that a change would be good after sitting in the same seat for so long. A few minutes of arguing later and everyone had their new seats; Leo, Elliot and Alice would sit in the back- in that order- with Alice sitting behind the passenger seat while Gilbert drove with Oz next to him.

Now it was completely dark outside, the sun having gone down hours ago. So far they had moved only a few feet up the road and were still surrounded on four sides by other annoyed drivers. The only sound was the light ticking of rain against the windows and heavy breathing from their friends sleeping the back seat.

Gilbert drummed his fingers on the wheel and stared out the window, wishing he could put on some kind of music but knowing that he couldn't if he wanted to avoid waking the others up (after bickering over different radio stations for most of the trip they had agreed to just not put on any music at all).

He glanced over at Oz, who was the only one left awake. The teenager had his legs drawn up to his chest and he stared out at the rain with a blank expression. He hadn't moved nor said a word since Alice and the rest had fallen asleep. Gilbert watched him with some worry, noting the way Oz's skin looked pale and sickly under the glare of the car's lights ahead of them. His eyes were dull and out of focus, turning the color of pale green beach glass, and even his hair had turned a flat yellow instead of the bright gold from before.

Gilbert fidgeted and looked away, not wanting to be caught staring. It was odd how much of a change had taken over the blond; he seemed like just a shadow of the lively person Gilbert had met a few hours ago. What had caused the change?

Suddenly the sound of static filtered through the speakers and Gilbert jumped at the unexpected noise. His head snapped around to find the source of the noise, horrified at what would happen if either Alice or Elliot woke.

Instead he found Oz fiddling with the dials for the radio, seemingly unworried about the consequences of his actions.

"What are you doing?!" Gilbert hissed lowly before he could stop himself. Oz blinked and looked up at him, one hand still on the dial.

"I'm putting on some music," Oz whispered back. "It's too quiet in here!" He went back to trying to find a radio station but Gilbert's arm shot forward and grabbed him before he could do anything.

"Are you crazy?!" Gilbert snapped, hand tightening around the teenager's small wrist. "You're going to wake them up!

Oz raised his eyebrows. "So?"

Gilbert gaped at him. "_So_? What do you mean, '_so_'?! I don't know about you, but I do not want to deal with a cranky Elliot and pissed Alice!"

"Calm down, you're going to wake them up just with your shouting," Oz said and Gilbert immediately shut his mouth. They both paused for a moment, waiting to see if any of the others had stirred.

"Listen, I know what I'm doing," Oz reassured him quietly after the moment had passed. "Trust me, okay?"

Gilbert hesitated, but he let go of Oz's wrist and leaned back in his seat. If Oz woke Elliot or Alice up at least the blame wouldn't be on him.

Oz shifted in his seat and pulled out an iPod from the back pocket. He reached forward and used a cord from the car to plug it in as Gilbert watched him curiously. For a few seconds the static was replaced with eerie silence while Oz clicked away on his machine. Then he pressed a single song with his thumb and leaned back.

The sound light tinkling notes filled the air and floated through the car. Gilbert blinked in surprise as he listened; this was not something one would expect on a teenager's iPod. The song sounded like something from a music box, the melody simple and sweet. Yet there was something almost alluring the way the different notes clashed together. The sound made Gilbert feel wary and guarded; like this song was something forbidden that he shouldn't be listening to.

What an odd feeling to get from listening to such a harmless song.

"I've never heard of this before," Gilbert commented and he looked sideways at Oz.

Oz shrugged. "Most haven't."

"What's its name?"

Oz was silent. Then, "It's called 'Lacie'."

"Lacie?" Gilbert repeated.

"Yeah. They guy who wrote the song loved this one girl a lot and decided to write a song for her, but she ended up dying a little while after the song was completed." Oz spoke softly, letting the music wash over them undisturbed.

"That's…" Gilbert struggled to find the right words. "Sad."

Oz let out a short laugh. "That's one way of putting it, I guess."

"How did you hear it?" Gilbert asked, though he was somewhat uncertain if he really wanted the answer or not.

"Elliot played it for me once," Oz said simply. "I asked him what the name of the song was because I thought Alice would like it." He paused. "It sounded better when Elliot was playing it though."

Gilbert smiled. "I know what you mean," he said earnestly. He had always loved listening to Elliot play. There was a certain grace and beauty in how Elliot handled the piano that made the experience all the more satisfying than hearing the recording of the same song.

"Elliot's great," Oz agreed and Gilbert was surprised and warmed to see that the light had come back into the blonde's green eyes.

"How long have you known Elliot, by the way?" Gilbert asked curiously.

"Um." Oz tilted his head sideways, thinking. "A few years now. But it feels longer."

"How did you meet? Elliot refuses to tell me anything…"

"It's really nothing that important," Oz confessed, running a hand through his blond bangs. "You've heard of Holy Knight, right?"

Gilbert nodded. "Of course." It was impossible not to have heard about the series when you knew Elliot for as long as he had. "You two were yelling at Alice about it before."

"Yup," Oz said, grinning. "Alice'll never understand why we like it so much. She thinks the whole thing is ridiculous, but she stops complaining about it after I point out her rabbit obsession."

"She has an obsession with rabbits?" Gilbert asked incredulously. Why would someone obsess over rabbits of all things?

Oz made a face as the 'Lacie' song ended and another slow song started. "Kinda. I mean, she likes collecting them and stuff. Her whole room back at school is covered with them; key chains, stuffed animals, books… you name it, she has it. Not that I mind or anything," he hurried to say. "I like rabbits, too. But she can't really make fun of my love for a book series when she loves rabbits just as much."

"Ah," Gilbert said politely, though he was still confused as to the whole situation.

"But anyways, that's not the point. You wanted to know where I met Elliot, right?" Oz looked at him expectantly.

"Yeah."

"Well, the reason I brought up Holy Knights is because we actually met at a midnight opening for one of the newest volumes," Oz explained. "You might remember it, actually, since it only happened a few years ago."

Gilbert frowned and tried to think back. He thought he did remember something from that night...

"Wait," he said as realization dawned on him. "_You_ were the idiot Elliot was talking about?!"

Oz made a chocking noise. "He called me an idiot?" he asked and his voice shook from suppressed laughter.

"It had to be you!" Gilbert exclaimed, focusing on the memory. "I remember he called me the next morning to complain! He went off about some idiot who thought that the main character's valet was better than the main character himself and then a fight started between him and this idiot in the middle of the bookstore-"

Oz's laughter burst from him and suddenly he was laughing so hard that he was clutching his sides in pain. Gilbert leaped sideways as fast as he could and slapped a hand over the teenager's mouth, casting a worried glance at the passengers in the back. Thankfully, they all seemed to be heavy sleepers and didn't move from their slumped positions.

Oz was still snickering, even with Gilbert's hand over his mouth, and it took him a full minute to calm down. Eventually, Gilbert removed his hand and sat back down.

"Sorry," Oz said with one last chuckle. "I had forgotten about that."

"So that means that you two didn't get along at all when you first met," Gilbert said.

Oz shook his head. "Nope. We totally hated each other, and it wasn't just because we had different opinions on the book. You should have seen how messy everything got once we figured out who we were."

Gilbert looked at him with confusion.

"You know, with Elliot being a Nightray and me being a Vessalius and all," Oz said casually.

"S-so you know that Elliot is a Nightray?" Gilbert stuttered, feeling himself flush. He felt like an idiot; this entire time he had been trying to avoid bringing up the Nightray family, worried that Oz didn't know who Elliot was.

"Of course!" Oz scoffed. "Elliot tried to avoid me for ages after that. But we kept bumping into each other since we went to the same Holy Knight stuff, and then there were the meetings between our families, so it was kinda hard for us to _not_ become friends, if you know what I mean. Not that our fathers know that we're friends or anything." He scowled.

"Why don't your parents know?" Gilbert asked cautiously.

"Because they would rip our heads off!" Oz said and his eyes flashed angrily. "And I already get enough trouble from my father without bringing this up too!"

Gilbert recoiled slightly at the tone of Oz's voice. The resentment there was so strong...

"Your father won't approve of your friendship with Elliot?" he said hesitantly.

Oz snorted. "He doesn't approve of _anything_ I do. This will just be another proof to him that I deserved to be shipped off to the Abyss boarding school instead of getting raised in Pandora with Ada." He stared out at the rain, eyes hard.

Gilbert stared at him, shocked. He hadn't thought of it before, but it was strange that Oz was in Abyss while his whole family lived in Pandora. The four oldest and most powerful families in the country- consisting of the Vessalius, Rainsworth, Nightray and Barma families- all lived in Pandora, which had been previously named Sabrie before the Tragedy a century ago. Since Oz was a Vessalius, he should have gone to the same school as Elliot and Leo. Instead he was in Abyss and was friends with Alice. Was it all Oz's father's doing?

"So…your father sent you to a boarding school in Abyss?" Gilbert clarified. "And that's why you don't live in Pandora?"

Oz nodded, still glaring out at the rain.

"And Ada's your sister?" Gilbert asked. He thought the name sounded familiar. Hadn't Elliot mentioned her once or twice before?

"Yeah," Oz said quietly, his expression softening. "She's a few years younger than me but we're really close. When we were younger, Father never wanted us to spend a lot of time together - he said that I was a bad influence or something- but we never listened to him. It only made us want to hang out more, you know? But, anyways, we became really important to each other by the time I was sent to Abyss. I haven't seen her in ages…" His voice trailed off.

"You really miss her, huh?" Gilbert asked. He felt a sudden need to find this Ada Vessalius and bring her to Oz straight away- anything to wipe that sad look off of Oz's face.

"All the time," Oz said with a sigh. "But we've stayed in contact with each other ever since I left, so it's not like I don't know what's going on in her life. It's different from meeting her face to face though. I hope that I'll be able to find her in the short time I'm back at Pandora."

"I'm sure you will. But why did your father send you away to Abyss in the first place? Did you do something wrong? And what about your mother? Didn't she object?"

Oz shrugged. "My mother died a long time ago. I don't even remember what she looked like. And my father never really loved me in the first place, so it was easy for him to send me away. He'd probably been planning to do it ever since I was born."

"_What_?!" Gilbert exclaimed, both horrified and furious that any parent would say that to their child, much less to Oz of all people!

Oz looked at him curiously. "Its okay, Gil- can I call you Gil?"

Gilbert managed to nod numbly, still too shocked and disgusted to form a complete sentence. But he felt his face warm slightly; no one had ever come up with a nickname for him before. A nickname meant familiarity and friendship between two people. Did this mean they were friends now?

"But, yeah, its fine. _Really_," he stressed at Gilbert's scowl. "It's normal for me."

"How can that be normal?" Gilbert hissed furiously. "Oz, I don't know what that is, but it's definitely not normal! A parent should never act like that towards their child! It's cruel! Did he ever say anything to you to make you think this stuff?"

Oz avoided Gilbert's gaze, looking down at his iPod. "He said…" He swallowed and took a deep breath before continuing.

"He said that my sin was my very existence. Before I left for Abyss, he told me that I should have never been born because I was an abomination to the Vessalius family. Me going away would put an end to all of the terrible things that happened to our family. So, really, in the end it was my choice to leave. I couldn't bear to stay in that cold house anymore with _him_." Oz spat out the last word like it was a curse. "I'm better off without my father. The only thing I miss from my old life is Ada and my Uncle Oscar. Otherwise, I'm quite happy to stay in the Abyss if it means never speaking to him again."

Gilbert gaped at Oz, too revolted to say anything. How could anyone treat another human being the way Oz had been treated by his father? How dare he say that Oz should have never been born?! Who was he to say that Oz was meaningless in this world?!

"Oz," he croaked finally and Oz looked at him with puffy green eyes. "Please, I want you to listen to me very carefully."

"…Alright," Oz murmured.

"Oz, you are-" Gilbert reached out to take Oz's hands in his own, giving them a reassuring squeeze. "You are _not_ meaningless. You are not a sin. You have purpose here in this world even if your father can't see it. You are _important_, do you understand?" He looked seriously into Oz's eyes.

"I suppose," Oz said lowly.

"No. No supposing. Think about it, Oz. Ada, Elliot, _Alice_- where would they all be if they had not known you?"

"Not in traffic," Oz said and gave Gilbert a crooked grin.

Gilbert's lip twitched. "No, not in traffic," he confessed. "But from what I've heard about your sister, she loves you very much. And that means you must have had a huge impact on her. If you weren't there, both of you would have missed out on a beautiful relationship that will last your entire lives. Would you really want that?"

Oz frowned. "No, of course not-"

"And then there's Elliot who drove two hours to come bail you and that stupid rabbit-"

"'_Stupid rabbit_?'" Oz repeated. There was a strange expression on his face that looked half surprised and half amused at the same time.

Gilbert cursed, the blood rushing to his cheeks. "Sorry- I meant Alice-"

Oz snickered and Gilbert blushed furiously.

"Sorry, continue." Oz tired to put on a serious expression and failed.

"_As I was saying_," Gilbert said. "Elliot came all the way out here to get you out the police station, even putting his family's reputation at risk considering the Vessalius and Nightray families are rivals. Do you really think that he would have driven to Abyss- which is nowhere near Pandora- if you didn't matter to him? Especially at last second and without notice?" Gilbert shook his head. "I've never seen Elliot do that for any of his friends. Well, except Leo, but he's an exception."

Oz blinked. He looked stunned, as if he hadn't realized the extent to which Elliot had gone through to free him.

"And then, finally, there's Alice. Alice, who is annoying and loud-" Oz made a protesting noise but Gilbert continued.

"- who is annoying and loud but acts completely different when you're around. You complete her, Oz. I don't know how to explain it but you do. You help her to stay on focus and you steer her away from decisions that are foolhardy or may hurt her. Without you to guide her, Alice would be a completely different person."

"How can anyone think you are meaningless when there is no evidence to back that theory up? You are so much more than what your father says about you. There is proof right in front of your eyes, living in the people you love. Why are you the only one who can't see it?"

Oz's eyes were huge. They glistened like two emeralds in the dark, brighter than anything Gilbert had ever seen in his life.

The teenager's breathing was shallow and his skin was same shade of sickly pale that Gilbert had seen before they began talking. His hands were limp and strangely cold in Gilbert's grasp. Oz looked like he was in shock.

"Oz?" Gilbert asked hesitantly and reached forward to touch the teenager's shoulder.

Oz suddenly sucked in a shuddering breath, coming to life before Gilbert's eyes. Color flooded his cheeks, staining them a bright red, and his eyes turned glossy with an extra layer of water. His hands twitched and turned warm again. He began squeezing Gilbert's hands so tight that the older male could barely feel them.

"You mean it?" Oz said frantically, like he was desperate for conformation. "Every word you said- you actually mean it? You don't think I'm worthless? You don't think that- that I'm…" He looked down, blinking rapidly.

"Oz," Gilbert said and he felt his heart breaking. "Of course I mean it. I wouldn't say them if I didn't mean it. Has none of your friends ever told you this before?"

Oz laughed, but it sounded bitter and broken. "They've never had to." He looked back up at Gilbert and his eyes were glossy. "I've never told anyone about how my father treats me. You're the first person to know."

Gilbert gaped. "What? Why not?"

"I-" Oz struggled to find words. "I don't know. I've just, never been able to say anything about it to my friends. It's not that I don't want to tell them- because I do- it just never felt like the right time…"

"Yet you told me," Gilbert said, feeling numb.

"Yeah." Oz smiled at him. "I trust you."

"But why would you trust me?" Gilbert blurted.

"Because…" Oz's voice trailed off and he stopped, thinking.

"Because you say all of the right things, and you mean them too," he finally said, sounding thoughtful. "Like, just now, you said exactly what I've needed to hear for years. None of my other friends have ever been able to do that for me. But you have. So, I trust you. It's as simple as that."

Gilbert opened and closed his mouth, unable to think of anything to say.

"Oh, and you're my friend," Oz added, beaming. He seemed happy again, finally. "You're one of my best friends, Gil!"

"I've known you for less than twelve hours!" Gilbert managed to choke out. "How can you say I'm one of your best friends if we've known each other for such a short amount of time?!"

Oz shrugged and tugged a hand out of Gilbert's grasp. He rubbed his eyes, saying as he did so, "_Time is an illusion_. That's one thing I've always known, even before I was sent to Abyss. Time doesn't matter really, when you think about it. I hadn't even known Alice for a minute when I first met her and we instantly became best friends. Time had nothing to do with our friendship then, and it doesn't now with you. We just are," he finished simply.

Gilbert tilted his head. "How did you meet Alice?"

"When I first arrived in Abyss I was targeted by a ton of bullies because I was from Pandora and a Vessalius on top of that," Oz explained. "They didn't understand why a kid like me was sent to the Abyss boarding school when there were tons of other, _better_ schools back in Pandora. Alice- she saved me." He looked up suddenly and Gilbert was shocked at the strength of gratitude and wonder in the teenager's eyes.

"She saved me," Oz said again, whispering. "And she never gave up on me, even when I gave up on myself. I owe her everything. So-" He choked and gazed back down.

"So I won't ever give up on her," he said firmly, his grip tightening. "I'll never leave her side. She saved me in every way possible so I will never ever abandon her, no matter what stupid decision she makes. I'll be there at her side so I can save her, just as she saved me."

Gilbert listened silently. He was in awe at the conviction of Oz's words; he never met anyone who was so sure of what he wanted from life. Oz knew what he wanted and what he was going to do about it. He would stay with Alice for as long as she needed him.

Gilbert felt a pang of loneliness in his chest, just like before when Oz and Alice had left to change earlier. It hurt a surprisingly large amount for a person who was used to being on his own. He wanted a person like that in his life. He wanted someone whom he could protect, someone who needed to be saved, someone who would never leave him and he would never abandon. Who would be that someone for him if he had a choice- if he could choose?

He stared at Oz, who met his searching gaze and smiled. Oz, the boy with bright green eyes and golden blond hair who acted like he was happy, but carried a heavy burden in the deepest parts of his heart. Oz, who wanted to protect Alice so much that he would do anything for her. Oz, who was like a shining star in an endless space of darkness.

Gilbert knew that if he had a choice to protect someone, anyone in the entire world, he would choose to protect Oz.

And maybe, just maybe, after all of this was over, he would do just that.

_HONK!_

The beep from the car behind them was loud, overbearing and shocking all at the same time. Gilbert jumped in his seat and yanked his hands away from Oz. Likewise, Oz let out a small yelp and his eyes flew open wide. The three passengers in the back jerked awake and all started to yell loudly at the same time.

Oz immediately twisted around to try and calm Alice down. While that was going on, Gilbert looked at the car in front of them only to realize that the traffic had finally begun to move, leaving a huge empty driving space in front of them.

_BEEP!_

Alice actually screamed at the second beep and Elliot lurched across Leo- who sat between them- to slam a hand over her mouth.

"_Go_!" Leo cried out from over Elliot's arm. Both Oz and Gilbert scrambled to reattach their seatbelts and Gilbert floored the gas pedal.

The car lurched forward and everyone was slammed backwards into their seats. Someone was screaming again, but Gilbert wasn't going to look back to see who, and Oz was laughing hysterically like this was the most fun he had ever had in his entire life-

"Keep your eyes on the road, seaweed head!" Alice shrieked and Gilbert had to swerve quickly to avoid hitting a tree.

They finally reached a normal speed a few seconds later. By that point everyone was hoarse from shouting and Gilbert was breathing heavily as adrenaline rushed through his veins. Never before had he went through such an intense experience as this trip.

But he realized, as he looked at Oz whose eyes were shining with excitement, that he wouldn't trade it for the world. He smiled at Oz and the teenager grinned back, like they shared a secret joke that no one else would understand.

"That's it," Elliot said croakily from behind them. "I am _never_ bringing you guys on another road trip _ever_ again."

-0o0-

**11/11/12**

**Thank you so much to the people who reviewed and/or added my story to their alert/favorite list! I'm sorry that there was some confusion in the beginning about the pairings but I hope it didn't stop anyone from reading. I hope you liked my story regardless!**

**I do not own Pandora Hearts.**


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